Personality Issues
by Kythen
Summary: AU Tsuna never did figure out how he got accepted to Katekyo Private University of the Mafia Arts, having been a loser all his life. But he isn't complaining, especially when he ends up in an elite class, where he is far from what he was. HIATUS
1. Arrival

**Personality Issues**

**Disclaimer:** Disclaimed

**Chapter 1: **Arrival

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi stared at the ceiling of his room and breathed out a sigh of great suffering.

How he managed to enter Katekyo Private University, he never figured out. The scholarship just arrived on his doorstep one morning, its pristine white envelope looking like a letter from the heavens. He and his mother had then proceeded to open it to find out that he had been accepted into the Katekyo University due to his unique conditions.

At the last phrase, his mother had assumed that they were taking him in out of pity and immediately starting packing his bags when she realized that it was a boarding school. His mother never did have a high opinion of him.

Of course, when he got to the school, deep in some unknown region of Namimori, he then learnt the full name of the school he was about to attend and promptly starting looking for the nearest payphone to call his mother to take him back home.

The sign at the side of the school gates showed "Katekyo Private University _of the_ _Mafia Arts_". Well. They never mentioned those last few words in the letter.

Tsuna spent a good five minutes staring at the finely printed words on the sign before turning his back on the school and starting back down the narrow forest trail that led to the school.

The moment he set foot on the rough stone steps, the trees and bushes around him started rustling as a group of people dressed in suits and shades rushed out of the greenery towards him. A person who strongly resembled his father threw him over a shoulder and ran through the open gates of the school. A boy about his age picked up Tsuna's dropped backpack and followed after them alongside a lady slightly older than him.

Tsuna didn't even have time to protest as he felt something connect with his head solidly, knocking him out immediately.

A few hours later, he woke up in a room with his bag and a massive headache. He then proceeded to stare at the ceiling of his room and breathe out a sigh of great suffering. Which is where we last left off.

An arm lazily draped over the edge of his bed swung gently to and fro, his fingertips brushing against a canvas material. Slowly, he regained his senses and sat up, remembering the situation he was in now.

Apparently, there must have been a mistake with the letter they sent to him. Maybe they mistook him for another person, who was still waiting for his or her admission letter to this school. No matter what, there was no way he could have entered a school which proclaimed to be proficient in the _Mafia Arts_. He didn't even know there was such a thing as Mafia Arts.

But still, there was a nagging feeling inside of him that told him he was meant to be here.

The young man sighed once more and dragged his bag onto his lap, beginning to unpack its contents. At times like this, he wished he had a handphone. As a former unpopular loser, nicknamed "No Good" Tsuna, he didn't have many friends to talk to, so there was no need for a handphone.

_Ah well,_ Tsuna resigned himself to his fate (for the moment) and continued unpacking.

Once his belongings were all spread out on his bed, he stretched and took a quick look around his dorm room. At the other end of the room there was another bed, which was neatly made. Several personal belongings were scattered all around it, including a broken alarm clock, a pair of metal objects (which looked dangerous) and a few packets of birdseed.

Tsuna shrugged to himself and started shoving his clothes into the drawers next to him. After the blow to his head, he didn't react much to much, but he knew the panic would kick in later. For now, he hoped to pack as much as he could.

At the age of eighteen, Tsuna had grown out of his childish and clumsy ways, leaving behind a slender young man in the last stage of his growth. He had been persuaded by his mother to leave his brown-orange hair in his childhood hairstyle with only a short ponytail extending out of it and ending exactly in between his shoulder blades. His eyes were a shade of amber as they surveyed his half-cleared bed critically.

The sound of a bell chimed across the school campus, making Tsuna jump and glance up at the clock. He matched the time with the schedule left on his bedside table and walked away from his bed, picking up a canvas sling bag from his bed and shoving everything on his bedside table, excluding the school provided alarm clock, into it.

According to the schedule, it was time for dinner.

--

With the help of many helpful signs, a few not-so-helpful people and a pair of over-helpful girls the same age as him, he finally located the dining area he had expected to reach half an hour earlier.

While wandering around he school grounds, he realized that the school he had been accepted in was extremely posh looking, which meant rich. Just the dorms itself looked like a neighborhood, each dorm building having a small garden with a winding path leading out into a main road. The dorm building he had stepped out from belonged to the Vongola class, the class Haru and Kyoko told him he was in.

Haru and Kyoko were the pair of girls he had met after leaving his room. Upon seeing him, they had pounced and dragged him out of the building, explaining to him about Katekyo Private School of the Mafia Arts in machine gun quick bursts of speech.

Miura Haru was a hyper dark haired and eyed girl, decked out in bright accessories. She was extremely childish for a girl of eighteen but strangely normal for a student of a school of the "so-called" Mafia Arts. So was Kyoko, in fact.

Sasagawa Kyoko was the more serious of the two, her orange hair tied back in a sensible ponytail, her eyes almost the same shade of amber as Tsuna's. She treated Tsuna like a younger brother, expressing her worry for him from time to time. She was also a year older and taller than him.

"Look, Tsuna! We're almost there!" Haru yanked on Tsuna's arm so hard he thought she might dislocate it. His bag slid off his shoulder as she tugged a second time.

Kyoko gripped the strap of his bag firmly before it could slip down his arm and pushed up his shoulder. With her other hand, she gently pulled Haru away from Tsuna. Tsuna smiled at her gratefully and rubbed the circulation back into his arm. He then turned to the building before them.

--

When he stepped into the dining room, he had to squeeze himself into a corner so as to not get squashed by a group of rowdy people near the entrance. Slowly inching across a wall, he realized that the dining hall was built in a rather interesting way.

There were no eating tables or chairs but instead, doors lined the walls, a different marking on each door. At the end of the hall, another double door was directly opposite the entrance, this door with the words _Kitchen_ printed across it.

Tsuna would have found this extremely well organized and impressive if not for the small groups of ruffians littering the area, blocking out most of the space, especially in front of a door near the entrance marked _Vongola_, the class he was supposedly in, according to Haru and Kyoko.

At the thought of the pair of girls who had accompanied him into the dining room, Tsuna turned around, looking out for them. They weren't anywhere in sight.

Silently cursing, he tried to calm down as his panic finally kicked in, having been asleep for the past few hours. The first thought that came to mind was to go through the door which led to the Vongola dining quarters. Maybe the two girls had already entered the room and were waiting for him.

His mind was made up and he slowly pushed himself through the crowd. Digging into his pocket, he felt for a small metal object, closing his fingers around it and taking it out of his pocket. A badge lay on his palm, its design identical to the Vongola crest on the door before him.

"Excuse me."

Tsuna barely had time to flatten himself against the wall again as a body brushed past him, followed by a group of others. His fingers clutched his class badge tightly, its sharp metal points digging into his palm. He watched in awe as the sea (of people) before them split to make a clear path between them upon catching sight of these people.

A glint of light on their shirts then caught his eye. There was a Vongola badge identical to the one he was holding on each of their shirts.

Looking not unlike superstars, the group of Vongola students entered the room, leaving behind a hall of silently awed people and a very stunned orange haired young man.

Suddenly, Tsuna doubted that he had been placed in the right class. The Vongola were like the elites or something of the school, something impossible for him to achieve. Haru and Kyoko must have mistaken him for someone else.

"Excuse me."

Tsuna flattened himself closer to the wall, thinking that there was a lagging student behind him who wanted to pass. A sigh came from behind him as a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned around and found himself facing a smiling purple haired man, who looked older than him. A lock of purple hair covered his right eye, while his other eye was a deep blue. Pinned to his shirt was an unfamiliar badge with the name _Estraneo _engraved onto it.

"Isn't that a Vongola badge?" he pointed to the small metal object in Tsuna's hand.

Tsuna nodded.

"So that means you're in the Vongola class…" the man looked thoughtful before continuing, "So you're the new student."

"How did you know?"

The older student merely smiled at him mysteriously.

"So are you going into the room, Tsunayoshi-kun? It's just ahead of you." He made a movement as if to grab Tsuna's arm but Tsuna took a step back, wary of him.

"You don't trust me, do you?" the man shifted back with a rueful look. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Rokudo Mukuro, nice to meet you, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna still eyed him cautiously. There was something about the older student he still couldn't trust.

At that moment, a dark shadow flashed behind Mukuro and a clatter of metal was heard. A trident lay at Mukuro's feet, with his hands twisted up behind him by a student Tsuna recognized by sight. He was one of the Vongola students who had entered the room.

"What are you trying to do, Estraneo?" the Vongola student asked Mukuro, releasing his hands to pick up the dropped trident.

Mukuro scowled, pretending to be annoyed. "Ah damn. I wanted to just try taking over one of you Vongola just once, Hibari Kyoya-kun."

Hibari snorted and threw the weapon back at Mukuro. He caught it expertly, twirling and making it vanish immediately.

"Illusions, Tsunayoshi-kun." Mukuro explained to the wide-eyed orange haired boy. "Well then. I better start going, lest Hibari-san here decides to attack me. I hope to see you around."

With that, he melted back into the crowd of students behind him, leaving Tsuna to face a indifferent looking fellow Vongola student.

"Er… Hi?" he tried carefully, ready to jump away if Hibari decided to get violent. Somehow, he trusted this Hibari person even less than Mukuro.

Dark eyes turned in his direction, fixing him with a cold stare. Tsuna flinched.

Then, to his surprise, Hibari spoke. "Kyoko and Haru were looking for you." he informed Tsuna dryly. "They were worried that you might have gotten lost and got me to find you."

Tsuna's distrust immediately evaporated at the sound of the two girls' names. If this emotionless scary guy had been sent by them, then he should be a friend of theirs.

"Follow me, herbivore."

Herbivore?

Before Tsuna could ask about the name Hibari had apparently nicknamed him, the other Vongola student had already stepped out onto the fairly clear path leading to the Vongola dining room. Tsuna hurriedly followed after, not wanting to be left behind in case another suspicious student approached him.

* * *

**A/N:** This is the promised 182769 story I said I would write. Sorry for taking so long to get it out, I had to think of a plot.


	2. Voices

**Personality Issues**

**Disclaimer:** Disclaimed.

**Chapter 2:** Voices

* * *

Tsuna dazedly swarm back into consciousness, his body still protesting for more sleep due to the ungodly hour he had fallen asleep at. He sensed that there were people around him, though he didn't really care who they were. All that mattered now was to find a way back to the land of sleep.

"Should we jump him?" a boy whispered from somewhere to Tsuna's left.

"Just do it quietly though, we don't want to wake Hibari-sama up!" Another person, a girl this time, hissed.

A guy chuckled. "Don't worry, that guy wouldn't wake up even if the sky fell on him!"

There was a rustling sound at the foot of the bed as Tsuna felt his bed sheets being yanked off him. The cold breeze circulating around the room hit him suddenly, making him shiver and reach up to take his blankets back before he froze. Someone grabbed his outstretched hand roughly and dragged him off his bed, making him fall onto the floor.

At this display of roughness, Tsuna's instincts immediately told him that something was not right and to get his ass out of the land of sleep out straight away. And his instincts, although only useful in times of danger, were always accurate.

His eyes snapped open as someone threw his bed sheets on him and wrapped it around his body. Tsuna thrashed wildly, feeling his air supply being cut off as the cloth around his neck tightened. One of his flailing legs caught the person behind him by sheer luck and the cloth around him loosened. Without hesitation, Tsuna tore the thin sheet covering his face and yelled for all he worth. Embarrassingly, his voice cracked and rose, making it sound like a girl's.

The people around him swore eloquently in reply.

"Shut him up!" the first boy roared.

One of his attackers shoved him facedown into the tangle of bed sheets pooled around him and pulled them around his body hastily. Before he could recover his senses and react again, a kick connected solidly with his chest followed by another one in the head, making him swim into unconsciousness for a second or three.

His body numbing in pain after such attacks, Tsuna didn't move as felt himself getting picked up and carried out of the room by three pairs of arms. Tears of panic, fear and, maybe, anger started prickling his eyes as he sensed himself being carried down the corridor.

Tsuna thought that he was used to this, having experience such things in his life before. It was common, getting beaten up for lunch money, sitting at the wrong table by accident or even just because they thought it fun to bully someone like him, weak and unable to fight back.

But he actually hoped that it would change after growing up and entering university. He didn't tell anyone, even his mother, but upon entering the university he had found friends for the first time, people willing to talk and laugh with him despite him being utterly useless.

Someone sighed. Tsuna twitched. The sigh sounded as if it came from inside his head.

"_You aren't weak. You just don't know how to use your strength."_

Suddenly, the people carrying him stopped. Tsuna felt himself being dropped to the ground once more. Somehow, he didn't really care this time, thinking frantically, _What strength?_

"_You do have strength, being me after all, Tsuna."_

"Sawada?"

The cloth around him fell away, replaced with a familiar face whose name he somewhat remembered from the introductions carried out yesterday.

"H-Hibari-san?" Tsuna blinked at the older boy glaring down at him. If Tsuna knew him better, he would have known that this was Hibari's I-have-just-rescued-you glare, reserved for reassuring rescued victims. However to Tsuna, it just looked like his normal I-am-pissed-off glare.

Behind him, four bodies, two guys and two girls, laid twitching on the blood sprayed ground. Tsuna noticed with interest that the guys were looked like they had been beaten into unconsciousness, being covered in bruises, while the girls looked as if they had merely been knocked out.

"What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked Hibari stupidly, bashing himself up mentally for stating the obvious. Hibari must have heard him being kidnapped and, out of the deeply hidden (really deep) goodness in his heart, came to rescue him.

"They woke me up and I bit them to death."

The shoujo like storyline got shattered.

_There was no way in hell someone like Hibari would rescue someone even if it was his best friend, let alone an almost stranger like me,_ Tsuna concluded, thinking that his stupidness would be infectious if he carried on like this. He pulled himself to his feet, using the nearby wall as a support. In front of him, Hibari had already started walking away, backing up Tsuna's newly made theory about his roommate.

Tsuna turned to follow him, his foot catching on the bed sheets spread out on the floor. Apparently his clumsiness that had followed him faithfully for eighteen years and not deserted him. He tripped.

In front of him, Hibari turned around and grabbed his arm, pulling him up before he could fall. Unfortunately, his saviour pulled him up a little too high, making his feet dangle just above the ground.

"Sorry." Hibari muttered, dropping him as if he was embarrassed that he had just saved Tsuna from such minor incident as falling. Unprepared for the sudden lost of support, Tsuna fell to the ground, his right ankle sliding under him as he landed.

An ominous sounding crack resounded in the corridor.

--

"Oh my god, Tsuna. What happened to your ankle?" Kyoko greeted Tsuna as he entered his the Vongola classroom for the first class of the day, hobbling to an empty space next to her. His ankle was swathed in layers of thick bandages.

Hibari, who was conveniently walking past their table at that time, answered for him, shooting Tsuna a look that said to keep his mouth shut, "Carcassa **(1)** tried to kidnap him."

This statement was followed by sneers and scoffs from the students in the room. Being elites, they had nothing to fear about an attempted kidnap, seeing that they could just beat their kidnappers up before anything got too serious. Tsuna, however, was a different case. Suddenly, everybody started speculating on ways Tsuna must have beaten them.

"But I can't fight!" Tsuna found himself blurting out in reply to one boy's gory description on how Tsuna must have defeated them. He really had to commend them on their imagination, despite everything being a little too exaggerated.

His sudden flustered outburst was met with silence. Hibari turned away from him and sighed.

"Then you must have used your great intellect, Tsuna-chan?" Haru broke the silence, her face lighting up with hope.

Tsuna shook his head, wishing that the floor beneath him would just open up and swallow him whole, sprained ankle and all. The students in the room were looking at him in a mixture of pity and disgust. Even Kyoko beside him looked startled.

The classroom door opened loudly and abruptly, stopping whatever the Vongola students were going to do. In walked a toddler, dressed in a businesslike suit and a fedora perched stylishly on his head. All the students stood up as he strolled over to the table smoothly and hopped onto it.

"Good morning class." He greeted them in a squeaky yet professional voice.

"Good morning, Reborn-sensei."

Reborn gestured for them to sit down, his sharp eyes staring intently at Tsuna. "For those who don't know, we have a new student in our midst, Sawada Tsunayoshi. He's here on a scholarship."

"But he can't fight, Sensei!" one of the students interrupted.

"And he's not smart!"

"Why the hell is he here in the first place?"

With every accusation, Tsuna sank down lower into his seat, looking down at the floor, praying that they would stop soon. The window was starting to look very tempting since the floor didn't seem to want to open up.

A gunshot went off, shutting up all of the students who had something to add about Tsuna.

The toddler stood on the table, a gun pointed towards the ceiling where a small hole showed where it had been shot. His fedora tilted forward to shadow his eyes and the top of his face. When he got everyone's attention, he busied himself with putting his gun away and straightening his coat.

"Sawada, come over." Reborn ordered, his babyish voice laced with steel. Tsuna hesitated but went forward reluctantly after meeting Reborn's eyes. He knew it when a teacher meant business.

Reborn rummaged in his coat before taking out his gun again, a green one this time. Tsuna flinched at the sight of the weapon and started to inch away, convinced that the teacher was going to shoot him after hearing all the negative things about him. He never expected to die at the tender age of eighteen, shot to death by a baby more than ten years younger than him.

"This gun is loaded with the Dying Will Bullet Version 2." Reborn explained, breaking into Tsuna's thoughts. "Don't worry, it won't kill you when I shoot but…" He smirked, an evil expression that contrasted greatly with his baby looks. "I'm sure we'll get very interesting results."

He pointed the gun at Tsuna's head and shot him.

--

"_It's all yours, Tsuna. I showed them; now don't make a fool of yourself."_

Tsuna heard the voice he had heard when he had been kidnapped laugh. He was sure he was going mad, even someone as ignorant as him knew it wasn't normal to hear voices in your head. But when he opened up his mouth to answer, his eyes opened instead. The classroom swam back into his vision.

Open-mouthed students stared back at him, their faces filled with an emotion Tsuna had never seen directed at him before. He looked beside him and saw Reborn still smirking but in a less darker way now. The toddler sensed that he was being watched and looked sideways at Tsuna.

"Good work," Reborn praised, lowering down his voice and adding, "'No-Good' Tsuna."

Tsuna was confused. He didn't remember doing anything besides getting shot in the head with a strange bullet and blacking out after that. Yet, the expressions on his classmates' and Reborn's faces said differently. There was newfound respect on their faces and, in his friends' faces, relief.

"Tenth!" A silver haired boy, sitting somewhere at the back, shot out of his seat and slid onto his knees before Tsuna. "I finally found you!"

"What just happened?" Tsuna asked Reborn, giddy at the sudden attitude change in all of his classmates and trying his best to ignore the boy before him who had started proclaiming his "ever-lasting loyalty to the Tenth head of the Vongola".

Reborn merely shook his head, smiling secretively.

"You were great, Tsuna!" Haru cheered, waving an overly decorated device in the air. "Thank goodness I caught it down on tape!"

Upon hearing her exclamation, Tsuna practically flew over to her, begging the girl to let him see the video. Haru nodded enthusiastically, flicking open the screen of her mini camcorder and pressing the play button.

An image of him popped up on the small screen, at the moment Reborn had shot him. He fell from the impact of the shot, his eyes rolling up to the back of his head.

That he remembered. What came next was something totally new and he had no trace of it happening in his memory.

Then, miraculously, before he touched the ground, clear orange flames flared out from his palms and propelled him forward into a standing position. The camera then closed up on his face, showing a maniacal looking face, his pupils coated with a glassy sheen of orange, the colour of his flames.

Tsuna watched himself in shock and awe as he flew up into the air until the top of his head grazed the ceiling. The flames emitting from his palms burst out, licking the glass of a nearby window.

"_Non mi sottovaluti._ **(2)**" The Tsuna on the screen laughed coldly, his unfamiliar voice sending shivers down the watching Tsuna's spine. It sounded almost like a different person entirely, almost. There was a barely detected tone in his voice that sounded like his.

On the screen, Tsuna smirked and the flames from his palms started to shrink, making him float slowly to the ground. When his feet touched the ground, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them up again. The flames in them had disappeared.

The screen went blank.

"You were so cool, Tsuna-chan." Haru snapped the screen shut and beamed at him. "I didn't know you had the Sky Flame!"

"But, that wasn't me…" Tsuna argued weakly. It had been him, hadn't it? There was no mistaking the shock of orange hair, the untidy way he wore his clothes or the slight build of his body. It did happened, didn't it? There was a scorch mark on one of the windows, proof of where the flames had touched it.

The thing that scared him the most was that he had absolutely no memory of it happening. And his face, it seemed twisted into an expression Tsuna had never used before.

That Tsuna the class had just seen was the complete opposite of who Tsuna was. It was someone Tsuna only dreamed of becoming in his darkest, most secret dreams.

"_Who are you?"_ Tsuna asked mentally, tuning out the voices of his classmates' praises and admiring whistles.

_It must have been the voice in my head, it must be! _Tsuna thought desperately. _It was you, right?_

But there was no reply.

* * *

**(1) **Another mafia family.

**(2) **English translation: Do not underestimate me.

**A/N:** Late update! I know, I know! I'm sorry! -kowtows in apology-


	3. Arrangements

**Personality Issues**

**Disclaimer:** Disclaimed.

**Chapter 3: **Arrangements

* * *

The bell chimed across the school campus, marking the end of a period. However only one door in the entire second level opened, ushering a staggering Tsuna out.

Never in his life had he had such a hellish teacher as Lal Mirch. The devil of a teacher had drilled the basics of the Mafia Arts into his brain using methods Tsuna was pretty sure was on the verge of being illegal. Furthermore, being the only student in that particular class, he had suffered the full brunt of her attacks, both physically and mentally.

A period ago, Tsuna had been following Kyoko around like a shadow after his memorable first lesson (homeroom), his mind deep in thought. Only when he realized that Kyoko and the rest of the girls were entering a classroom that didn't seem to consist of any guys did he snap out of his trancelike state.

"Sorry, Tsuna." Kyoko spun around to face him and clapped her hands together in an apology to the younger male, "This class is only for girls so go and kill some time about school for an hour or so. I'll meet you at the dining room for lunch."

"Why don't you go to Lal Mirch's class in the meantime?" Haru recommended, passing by the both of them by the door. "She teaches new students the basics of the Mafiosi." **(1)**

Kyoko agreed and shooed Tsuna down the corridor. "Great idea. Tsuna, her class is just one floor down, the first one on the left. I'm sure you can find your way there."

She left him standing forlornly in the middle of the corridor and hurried back to her own class, waving to him over her shoulder. A strong aroma wafted out of the crack between the door and the doorframe as it closed, making Tsuna feel nauseous. Whatever the girls were doing in there, it seemed safer to be away from them at that time, leaving him no choice but to go off to his class.

After the ring that signaled the end of class, he fled out and away of the classroom, down the unusually long and empty corridor. Once he was a safe distance away, he slowed down his pace, jamming his hands into his pants pocket and abruptly stopping in his tracks as he felt the all too familiar Vongola badge poke his finger. He wondered if he should pin it on his shirt like all his classmates did or just leave it lying in his pocket. After all, if being in the Vongola class nearly caused him to get kidnapped, who knows what might happen if he just waltzed about school with the badge announcing his status as a Vongola?

He withdrew his hands from his pockets, leaving the badge in his pocket. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Oi Vongola brat!" a voice jeered from behind him.

It seemed that even without a Vongola class badge displayed on his person, he wouldn't be safe from non-Vongola students hoping to catch a weak Vongola off guard and take over his place in the elite class. And Tsuna was a perfect example of such a Vongola student.

The Vongola muffled a groan, recognizing the obnoxious voice of one of his attempted kidnappers. Frankly, he had no idea whether to be scared or frustrated. The other students in the damned Mafia school he was in could obviously beat him up as easy as squashing a bug. But other than being plain dangerous, they were also very annoying.

Tsuna turned around slowly, his body tense and ready to flee if he got attacked. He never had the chance to do so. While he was contemplating his options, his attacker had already snuck up behind him and delivered a fist to his stomach just as he turned around.

Of course, being the weak untrained ex-loser he was, he had no idea how to dodge that and received the hit straight on. No wonder he was called "Dame Tsuna" in his previous schools. The impact of the blow sent him sprawling across the polished marble floors and feet first into the nearest wall. A twinge of pain lanced through his ankle as it made contact with its unyielding surface. To add to the injury, it was the sprained one.

Gasping in pain, he flopped over in time to see his attacker stalk towards him with a grin that showed all of his teeth. He paled. There wasn't any chance of getting out of this situation in one piece, or even alive.

As his attacker's shadow fell over him, Tsuna made a desperate attempt at escaping, scrambling to his feet only to fall back down as his ankle gave way under his weight. The wall above him cracked as a fist made contact with it. The blood completely drained from his face. If he had collapsed just a mere millisecond later, that would have been his head that was splintered into pieces.

"Give me your damn badge, Vongola!" the giant bellowed, pulling his fist from the wall and reaching out towards Tsuna.

Out of pure instinct, Tsuna snapped his legs together and kicked out at the outstretched arm, effectively avoiding getting caught and pushing himself away from under the other student. The smooth marble floor enabled him to slide quite a distance away before he came to stop. In an ordinary situation, Tsuna would have found that ridiculous but at the moment his panicked mind only had "escape" in it at that moment.

Someone in his mind sighed. _"You're useless, Tsuna."_

Paying no attention to the voice, he picked himself off the ground, stumbled and cursed his throbbing ankle, all while looking over his shoulder to keep his attacker in his sight. As his eyes were fixed on the large bulk of muscle coming after him, he failed to notice the air before him cloud with a faint indigo mist and promptly ran into a solid body that materialized in it.

Cold hands steadied him before he could fall over again. "Oh my, Tsunayoshi-kun, you should really watch where you go."

The person who he had collided with chuckled, grasping Tsuna's shoulders lightly and pushing him away lightly. The shorter male found himself staring into amused deep blue eyes of a person he least wanted to meet, let alone see, ever again.

"M-mukuro? Where did you come from?"

The said male didn't reply, but instead smiled thinly at Tsuna and forcefully yanked him away. To Tsuna's credit, he stayed on his feet this time, hopping around on his uninjured ankle. A few steps away from where he was, Mukuro had his trident out and was blocking the arm of a very persistent attacker.

Tsuna's attacker was not impressed by the appearance of Mukuro. "Get lost, Estraneo scum— Rokudo." A flicker of fear showed on his face.

"Oho. So you know me." Mukuro replied conversationally, breaking free of their locked weapon and arm. Mist began to form around the two, while a smirk formed on Mukuro's face. "Then you should know what my reputation in school is like."

In a blink of an eye, the mist around them thickened to the point where Tsuna couldn't see what was happening between the both. Another blink and the mist had dispersed, revealing a body on the floor and the other prodding it with his trident. Tsuna released a breath of relief, not realizing that he had been holding his breath.

Mukuro turned to him, the trident in his hands disappearing as he took a step in Tsuna's direction, a playful smile replacing the smirk. "Don't you owe me a 'Thank You' or something, Tsunayoshi-kun? Seeing how I had just saved you?"

Tsuna backed away, the look of relief on his face turning to fear. "W-what?"

A leer appeared on the Estraneo's face as Tsuna's back touched the wall. He looked behind him in shock, whipping his face back as he sensed the other close to him. He gulped as he found intense blue eyes just inches away from his. Too close.

The taller male leaned down, bracing his two hands on either side of Tsuna, effectively trapping him between his body and the wall. Meanwhile, Tsuna tried his best to look anywhere but at Mukuro's face and was failing. Badly. The other was so close to him that Tsuna could feel his breath on his face.

"C-could you please move away?" Tsuna stuttered, fearing that he was going to be thrashed by Mukuro, seeing how Mukuro had already trapped him and could easily do so.

Mukuro, however, ignored Tsuna's words and moved his face closer, bringing one of his hands away from the wall and to Tsuna's face. Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the fist to the face or to any other parts of his body.

What he did not expect was the fingers lightly cupping his cheek and the sudden warm pressure on his lips. His eyes flew open in shock. Mukuro's face was right in front of his, eyes closed and lips on his own. Trembling at the intensity of the kiss, Tsuna brought up his hands, meaning to push him away.

Mukuro was a step ahead, catching his hands with one of his and pulling it down to his chest. He brought his head a hair's length back and gazed into Tsuna's eyes.

"Liked it?"

Those two words triggered something in Tsuna's mind, making him black out.

--

Whatever reaction Mukuro was anticipating, it probably wasn't one which involved a scowling Tsuna kicking a leg up between his legs and kicking him in the chest when he staggered backwards in shock and pain. He did all men in the world proud when he remained standing, looking indifferent to the blow to his most vulnerable body part apart from the slight gritting of his teeth.

Tsuna, on the other hand, smirked a tad evilly and crossed his arms, leaning back languidly onto the wall. "Serves you right, Mukuro."

There was definitely something different about Tsuna now, observed Mukuro. It was as if there was a major personality change in the younger boy. Interesting. Was it his real side? A bluff? Or something else?

"Well, you certainly aren't the Sawada Tsunayoshi known to many." He prodded for answers.

"I am, actually. Or just another _hidden_ side in him."

It clicked. "He has multiple personalities?" Mukuro asked incredulously, a rare expression of shock appearing on his face.

Tsuna shrugged nonchalantly. "Not multiple. I think I'm the only one." Then amber eyes stared at the gaping male, glittering with uncharacteristic ruthlessness. "Now, don't go telling everybody that he's suffering from MPD or I swear I will hurt you. What everybody only needs to know is that I'm a side awakened by the effects of a certain Reborn-sensei's bullet, nothing more and preferably less. Got it?"

Unfortunately for him, Mukuro had already recovered and his mind was racing with possibilities. "Sure. But on one condition."

Tsuna glared at him.

Despite the shivers sent down his spine, Mukuro continued, "Whenever you switch, come to me before you turn back. You seem much more interesting than your other side."

To his surprise, Tsuna flipped him off, a spark of humor in his eyes.

_Apparently, I amuse him._ Mukuro mused, his eyes fixed on Tsuna's. An expression like that was far more suitable on the Vongola's face than his normal one.

"Deal."

Mukuro blinked and when he looked at the younger male again, he was already walking away, a hand waving dismissively at him.

A smile crept onto Mukuro's own face as he turned away and sauntered off in the opposite direction.

_Life is going to get so much more interesting from now on, Sawada Tsunayoshi._

_--_

**(1)** In Katekyo Private, there are no fixed classes except for classes the students choose to go to. Mostly, they just skip classes and do their own training though.

**A/N:** I apologize for the late update. -gets down on knees-

I think I'm losing a lot of readers due to late updates...


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